In Burkina Faso, why was Canal+ sanctioned with a fine of 50 million?

The High Council of Communication (CSC) of Burkina Faso has condemned Canal+ International to a fine of 50 million CFA francs (76,286 euros) for not ensuring free and unconditional broadcasting of the Radiodiffusion télévision du Burkina (RTB) channels to its subscribers residing in the country, according to a decision signed on June 12, 2026, by the president of the CSC, Wendingoudi Louis Modeste Ouédraogo.

The regulator reproaches the French operator for maintaining technical obstacles preventing access to national public channels, particularly by requiring subscribers whose Canal+ subscription had expired to send a text message to activate the reception of RTB. The CSC considers this procedure contrary to the terms of an agreement signed on February 14, 2025, between the two parties, which required Canal+ International to keep RTB channels accessible even after subscriptions expired, and to do so automatically.

The case had already been subject to a technical adjustment period granted to the operator, followed by a formal notice sent in April 2025. The CSC indicates that it took the initiative on the case and found that the ultimatum set for June 11, 2026, had gone unanswered, characterizing the situation as a “lack of willingness to fulfill a major commitment.”

Two Compliance Deadlines

Canal+ International now has 30 days to pay the fine to the Burkinabè public treasury. A second deadline of the same duration is granted to remove all technical obstacles and ensure free and automatic access to RTB channels, including for active subscribers residing outside of Burkina Faso.

The CSC warns that “higher-level sanctions” may be imposed if the operator does not comply with the requirements within the set deadlines, without specifying the nature of these measures. The fine of 50 million CFA francs is among the highest ever imposed by the regulatory body on a broadcasting operator in Burkina Faso.

This decision occurs against a backdrop of increased Burkinabè demands on foreign media since Captain Ibrahim Traoré came to power in October 2022. Since then, RFI, France 24, the BBC, and Voice of America have been suspended from broadcasting permanently or extended on national territory.

A Context of Strengthened Regulation

The sanction against Canal+ International comes a month after the suspension, starting on May 5, 2026, of the Francophone channel TV5 Monde, which the CSC cited for “serious and repeated failings” in the coverage of jihadist violence in Burkina Faso and in Mali, particularly after attacks that occurred on April 25, 2026. TV5 Monde had already been suspended twice in Burkina Faso in 2024 for similar reasons.

However, the Canal+ case differs from the suspensions of news media: the sanction concerns not the editorial content broadcast, but the failure to comply with a contractual service obligation. The February 2025 agreement was established with the stated objective of providing access to the public to the programs of Burkinabè public media, including for households that have unsubscribed.

The operator, whose satellite packages are widely available in West Africa, had not publicly responded to the CSC’s decision.